Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 667)

flooded house with cows on the porch
Climate Change

Homes in flood-prone areas should be getting cheaper. They’re not.

Floods are only becoming more common, but the housing market isn't taking flood risk into account.

Peanut butter on toast on a white speckled plate
Food Safety

How to check for and possibly prevent allergies in children

Allergies are still on the rise, but parents may finally have ways to fight back.

Pfizer and Moderna are studying their COVID vaccines in kids as young as 6 months
Vaccines

Pfizer and Moderna are studying their COVID vaccines in kids as young as 6 months

The two companies have both begun clinical trials, which will last a number of years.

Baboon sits on a tree branch in Kenya.
Animals

Baboon poop shows how chronic stress shortens lives

Biologists tracked 300 baboons from life to death and found some interesting insights.

Pollution from power plant.
Mental Health

Car, factory, and power plant pollution can be damaging to kids’ mental health

Exposure to pollutants can lead to greater rates of mental illness across all diagnostic categories.

an anti-drone weapon
Air Force

The US military is testing a microwave anti-drone weapon called THOR

The defensive system is meant to zap swarms of aggressive drones.

Children playing with microscope
Projects

9 cool ways your family can help scientists collect data

Projects both kids and adults can learn from.

Ask Us Anything: What happens in your brain when you daydream?
Ask Us Anything

Ask Us Anything: What happens in your brain when you daydream?

It doesn't just lay low.

The ship blocking the Suez is finally unstuck, but we could see bottlenecks like this again
Technology

The ship blocking the Suez is finally unstuck, but we could see bottlenecks like this again

The incident was a reminder of the power of choke points to disrupt our fragile global shipping systems.

An image of the praying mantis surrounded by leaves.
Insects

This female praying mantis has a persuasive body part it uses to find mates

Is that a pheromone gland or are you just happy to see me?

Megalithic jars in a Laos forest
Archaeology

Archaeologists finally uncovered some of the mystery behind Laos’s Plain of Jars

This cryptic megalithic site is thousands of years old, but its origin story is still not fully known.

Venus Crater Farm image taken by the Magellan spacecraft for NASA
Solar System

The hellish Venus surface in 5 vintage photos

It's been nearly 40 years since we got a photographic close-up of the volcanic planet.

An artist's illustration depicting Voyager 1 in interstellar space
NASA

How the most distant object ever made by humans is spending its dying days

Voyager 1 continues to observe the farthest corners of the solar system—but it may not for long.

This periodic table of elements is now outdated.
Science

Four New Elements Added To The Periodic Table

That's some heavy stuff

iPhone in a tree on the security tab
Security

The new iOS 14.5 update offers iPhone users serious privacy and security upgrades

Take advantage of privacy features you won’t find anywhere else (yet).

Tiny air pollutants may come from different sources, but they all show a similar biased trend
Pollution

Tiny air pollutants may come from different sources, but they all show a similar biased trend

The study found that unequal exposures to fine particulate matter air pollution aren’t driven by a single source.

an artist's interpretation of a virus over top of the ask us anything logo
Ask Us Anything

Ask Us Anything: Can viruses be good for us?

They're not all bad—but there's a gray area, too.

Which allergy medication works the best? It’s complicated.
Medicine

Which allergy medication works the best? It’s complicated.

But here’s our best advice.

aerial view of ts'msyen forest garden
Agriculture

‘Forest gardens’ planted by Canada’s Indigenous people before the 1800s still benefit ecosystems today

And they could help those communities reclaim their lands.

People in a public building at night, maybe using public Wi-Fi.
Tech Hacks

Public Wi-Fi can expose your data. Here’s how to stay safe.

The more you know, the more prepared you'll be.